Gaak! I’ve neglected this lil’ weekly feature for quite some time now. It’s too bad, because I actually like posting music, so I’m going to double the number of songs this week only. Now it’s like the Brady Bunch!
Animal Collective: “Peacebone”

Oh how I love this song. It reminds me of a colorful Willy Wonka character peddling a Dr. Seuss-inspired flying machine (like a combination of this and this, but with more stripes, whistles and pipes and a goldfish bowl) that constantly belches steam as it jerkily bops above towns, allowing the driver to shout slam poetry about broccoli and mildew on rice to the citizens below. Also on this flying contraption that we shall call a “Whatsagalloo” are a little blond boy with a bowl cut and a gap between his front teeth who loves to sing, and a cage filled with a tiger, toucan and chimpanzee, who also want to join in the chorus.

Bears: “How To Live”

One of the best 60’s-inspired pop songs to date.

Nedelle: “Ghost Ships”

A delightful Simon and Garfunkel/Belle & Sebastian genre of pop.

Takka Takka: “Draw A Map”

A more appropriate name for this song would have been “Talk Faster,” but I guess that’s why I’m not in a band. This song reminds me of a throwback to early/mid 90’s college rock like Pavement and R.E.M.

France Gall: “Laisse tomber les filles”

I’m not quite sure how I got into this one, but it’s infiltrated my playlist and doesn’t look like it will be leaving any time soon. I’ve always had a fondness for French pop, I guess.

The Mae Shi: “Run To Your Grave”

Getting a new vocalist seems to have done wonders for this band. “Run To Your Grave” is from an album that’s still in the beginning stages from the Mae Shi, and already it sounds like the album could be a winner. If pressed to name my 10 favorite songs released this year, this one would most definitely appear on the list. It’s like that one great song the Unicorns never got around to writing.

We’re only six months into the year, but already I feel as if I’ve found what I consider to be the best album of 2007. I know I’ve jumped the gun a few times before in the past, but unless the Hold Steady manage to sneak an album in before the end of the year, or if Madvillain’s sophomore effort is anywhere near as good as their first, it looks like there should be no surprises. Except for this one. Hurtbreak Wonderland from World’s End Girlfriend, so far the one to beat this year, is entirely instrumental.
If you’ve been reading Audictive for a while, you’ll be no stranger to the fact that I’m not too keen on entirely instrumental albums. They’re entirely too much for my feeble little brain to process, which causes me to bitch and moan about my lack of connection to the work. This just isn’t the case with Hurtbreak Wonderland though, as it is one stunning composition after another, bathed in neo-classical strings and piano, jazz, avant-garde pop, electronica and hip-hop beats (known as “post-rock”). Amongst all the beauty, there’s the occasional freak out, in which speedup cartoon samples are ground through instruments working at tornadic speeds. It’s one of those listens that leaves you in a state of confusion, curiosity and bewilderment.

Hurtbreak Wonderland is the sixth full-length release from this Japanese group.

For as highly as I recommend this album, the big drawback is that it’s currently only available through Human Highway Records as a pricey Japanese import. Don’t give up hope just yet though. Most people are able to pick the record up for $15 at shows.

Warning! All the following songs are over 11 mb each, and thus will require several minutes for download.

World’s End Girlfriend: 100 Years of Choke

World’s End Girlfriend: Ghost of a Horse Under the Chandelier

World’s End Girlfriend: River Filled With Stories

A brief farewell to one of the greatest shows, and a reminder of life.

Journey: Don’t Stop Believin’

Last year’s blog sweethearts Los Campesinos! have finally been picked up by a label (Arts & Crafts no less), and will release their debut EP Sticking Fingers Into Sockets, July 3.

After their song “Death To Los Campesinos!” appeared online last year, the buzz began, and three songs later, an internet only EP Hold On Now Youngster… began spreading online like a lovable case of the plague.

It’s easy to understand why these kids have been receiving talk. The group is like a blast of Shocktarts and Rock-a-dile Red© Kool-Aid, with a few Nerds mixed in for color. Male/Female harmonies with darling Welsh accents float over bouncy sugar coated melodies of guitar, glockenspiel and violin. Oh bliss!

Los Campesinos!: You! Me! Dancing!

Los Campesinos!: We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives

Los Campesinos!: Death To Los Campesinos!

Los Campesinos!: Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks

While you’re online, you can head over to the group’s MySpace page and listen to a few more tracks, watch two zaney cartoon music videos, and catch a list of concert dates.

Melbourne’s ensemble Architecture In Helsinki is just one of those groups that I’ve become increasingly fond of with each release, leading me to declare their 2005 album In Case We Die as one of the best releases of that year in my college newspaper. Currently, the group is about to release their third album, Places Like This, on Polyvinyl Records. Places Like This will be released Aug. 7.

First thought: WTF?! Do I have the right record on? It sounds like the B-52s staggered into the recording studio after ingesting gallons of mixed drinks and drug cocktails.

Second thought: It sounds like a head-on collision of their songs “It’s 5!” and “Maybe You Can Owe Me” in some tribal jungle, where the haggard remains of victims rolled themselves into the nearest vicinity, which happened to be where the natives love to dance, whoop and play loud club music.

I had read that two of the members left due to “creative differences,” which is apparent from the very get-go, as Place Like This feels like the band completely cutting loose and exploring more feet moving material. This exploration comes at a bit of a cost though, as their childlike song quality is gone, and so are the tempo changes throughout songs. One of the biggest positives that can be said of the album is that Kellie’s vocals take a more prominent role this time.

Architecture In Helsinki: Debbie

Architecture In Helsinki: Hold Music

Architecture In Helsinki: Souvenirs

Architecture In Helsinki: Maybe You Can Owe Me

Architecture In Helsinki: Do the Whirlwind [Halma’s Remix]

Places Like This will be released Aug. 7 on Polyvinyl Records.

Today was an exciting day for White Stripes fans, but also for fans of M.I.A., as we got a pre-release of “Boyz,” the first official single off of her upcoming album Kala, due in the US Aug. 21 on Interscope.

I’ll keep it short since I’ve already written about Maya before.

So far, it’s the best song with a “na-na-na” chorus I’ve heard this week.

M.I.A.: Boyz

M.I.A.: Bird Flu

M.I.A.: Hit That

M.I.A.: XR2

Sometimes writing a post just seems like a huge undertaking that I’m unable to force myself to do daily, which is why sometimes iPods go unfed for days. But there’s moments, especially like this one, where I remember why I started Audictive in the first place: a love of music that I want to share.

Map of Africa’s “Bone” was a track Gorilla vs. Bear listed as one of their best finds in May, and less than 30 seconds into the song I found out why. It’s a stew of swamp-rock and psychedelia, with its tongue firmly in its cheek (I think I labeled the ID3 genre ’sex-funk’) that obviously pays homage to its many inspirations. From start to finish, it’s an album that’s packed with unheard treasures that I can only describe as being the equivalent of riding around the plains of Africa and bayous of the Congo in a cutoff jeep, wearing camo pants and a headband, sweaty from the persistent sun and gluttonous mosquitoes.

Due to the obscurity of the group and the album, what I can piece together is that Map of Africa is club DJs Harvey and Thomas Bullock (Rub ‘N’ Tug, A.R.E. Weapons), who released three 12 inches in the last two years under the moniker Map of Africa.

Currently, the album is only available on vinyl in extremely limited quantities (you can still purchase it here). A CD release has been promised for later this year, but no exact date has been given as of yet. This one’s worth exerting the effort to track it down.

Map of Africa: Bone

Map of Africa: Map of Africa

Map of Africa: Freaky Ways

One of the things that’s always assumed about indie bands is that they don’t make tons of money, because hey, there’s not some giant record label behind them spending thousands on marketing/imaging/public brainwashing/etc. In the case of Shh… This is a Library though, from the money that would be made, all is being donated to Mercy Corps (Darfur Crisis), because musician (and only band member) Brent believes it would go to a better cause.

As for the sound of Shh…, Brent describes it as “the Album Leaf and american football kissing under the sheets” on his MySpace page. It’s a sound that carefully constructs the final moments of wakefulness and the somber lapse into a deep sleep filled with dreams of that which compliment it.

Shh… This is a Library’s self-titled debut is limited to only 50 copies (all of which are hand numbered), and each copy’s cover art is a different finger painted work by artists “The Annapolis Chosen.” You can click here to check out all 50 different covers/cases. Besides the limited cover, each CD face is decorated with a crayon picture, and each album comes with a bag of nighttime tea to produce a blissful slumber.

Shh… This is a Library: Is This A Crush?

Shh… This is a Library: BFF

You can listen to more songs on MySpace and purchase the album from I Had An Accident Records for only $7.

Behind as always on my posts, but in case you haven’t yet heard the new New Pornographers song “My Rights Versus Yours” or downloaded it on another blog (shame… shame…), you should take a listen. The song is from their forthcoming Challengers album due out Aug. 21 on Matador Records.

“My Rights Versus Yours” is one of the most straightforward songs the Pornos have recorded, meaning there’s no balls-to-the-wall chorus and semi-cryptic lyrics that we’ve become so accustomed to with each album progression. The first time I heard the track, I wasn’t too impressed, as it wasn’t like anything off of Twin Cinema, which is my favorite power pop albums and a must own for everyone (Note: This is not my opinion that everyone should own it; it’s a fact). Repeated listens to “My Rights” has me believing that it’s one of the strongest songs they’ve written, and that Challengers will be quite good as well. I guess time will tell.

The New Pornographers: My Rights Versus Yours

The New Pornographers: The Bleeding Heart Show

The New Pornographers: These are the Fables

The New Pornographers: The Laws Have Changed

Everybody’s favorite lesbian twin sister duo Tegan and Sara are readying the release of their fifth studio album, The Con, for July 24 on Vapor Records.

While the sisters have always had a bit of a dark edge to their songs, The Con delves deeper into that direction, and features more stylistic departures (like tracks with synths, more mature lyrics) than heard in their previous works. From what I read on their homepage, this change is attributed to the girls having written most of the record away from each other’s company.

My take on The Con -

I have yet to be sucked into this album like I did with previous works If I Was You and the superb So Jealous. The songs are good, and certainly do show growth for the girls, but they just lack memorability. So far I’ve listened to The Con four times, and maybe it’s just old age, but I seriously cannot recall what a single song sounds like just by looking at the tracklist, whereas I don’t usually have that problem. Part of this may be that there are no songs that immediately stand out. Their poppy sound is toned down, and instead tracks are built upon layers, which sometimes requires more attention than they’re worth. This isn’t to say The Con is something that should be avoided, it’s just something that we haven’t come to expect from the duo. And change is never easy.

Tegan and Sara: The Con

Tegan and Sara: Floorplan

Tegan and Sara: I Won’t Be Left

Tegan and Sara: Monday, Monday, Monday

Tegan and Sara: This Is Everything [live] (My personal favorite)

The Con comes out July 24 on Vapor Records.